Rotatable tray for food processor

ABSTRACT

A food processor for processing foodstuffs having a base housing, a motor, a drive shaft, a tool, a bowl, a lid and a tray. The tool is rotatably securable to the drive shaft and rotatable by the motor. The bowl is removably securable to the base housing and includes an inner surface area. The lid has an inner surface area. The lid is removably securable to the bowl to create a processing chamber between the inner surface areas of the bowl and lid in an assembled position. The tray is removably securable within the processing chamber and is manually rotatable relative to the bowl and lid, independently of the drive shaft and tool, in the assembled position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present application is directed to processing foodstuff and, moreparticularly, to a rotatable tray for use within a food processor andconfigured for compartmentalizing processed foodstuff.

Food processors are well known in the art. Food processors generallyinclude a drive motor which rotates a cutting tool within a removablebowl. Food to be processed is fed to the cutting tool to be chopped,ground, or sliced. The processed food is then maintained within aremovable bowl.

The use of such a food processor becomes inconvenient when multiple,different foodstuffs must be processed and kept separated. A user isrequired to essentially disassemble the food processor in order toremove the processed foodstuff from within the bowl in order to keep theprocessed foodstuff separated from other foodstuffs to be processedsubsequently. It would be desirable to have a food processor that wouldenable the user to keep different processed foodstuffs separated withinthe bowl without requiring the user to disassemble the food processorand remove the processed foodstuff from within the bowl before beginningto process a different foodstuff.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly stated, the present invention is a food processor for processingfoodstuffs. The food processor comprises a base housing and a motordisposed within the base housing. The drive shaft is operatively engagedwith the motor and protrudes from the base housing. The motor causesrotation of the drive shaft. The tool is rotatably securable to thedrive shaft. The bowl is removably securable to the base housing andincludes an inner surface area. A lid having an inner surface area isremovably securable to the bowl to create a processing chamber betweenthe inner surface areas of the bowl and lid in an assembled position. Atray is removably securable within the processing chamber. The tray ismanually rotatable relative to the bowl and lid independent of the driveshaft and tool in the assembled position.

In another aspect, the present invention is a combination bowl andinternal rotatable tray for a food processor having a base housing. Thebowl is removably secured to the base housing. The bowl has an innersurface area. The lid has an inner surface area. A lid, having an innersurface area, is removably securable to the bowl to create a processingchamber between the inner surface areas of the bowl and lid in anassembled position. The tray is disposed within the processing chamberand is rotatable with respect to at least one of the lid and the bowl.The tray has a peripheral wall, a base wall, and plurality of interiorwalls. The interior walls extend from the peripheral wall to create aplurality of cavities. At least a portion of the tray is accessible by auser through at least one of the lid and the bowl in order to manuallyrotate the tray with respect to the bowl and the lid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description ofa preferred embodiment of the present invention, will be betterunderstood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For thepurposes of illustrating the food processor of the present invention,there is shown in the drawings the embodiment which is presentlypreferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is notlimited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a food processor in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a bowl and a lid for the foodprocessor of FIG. 1, partially cut away to expose a cutting tool and atray;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the food processor of FIG.1, taken along line 3—3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the tray of the food processor of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain terminology is used in the following description for convenienceonly and is not limiting. The words “right,” “left,” “upper,” and“lower” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made.The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” refer to directions toward and awayfrom, respectively, the geometric center of the food processor andcomponents thereof. The terminology includes the above-listed words,derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like numerals indicate likeelements throughout, there is shown in FIGS. 1–4 a preferred embodimentof a tray 80 for a food processor 10 for the compartmentalizing offoodstuff within a bowl 50, in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the food processor 10 has a generally abarrel-shaped base housing 20. The base housing 20 is preferably made ofplastic, although it is within the spirit and scope of the presentinvention that the base housing 20 be made of another material, such asmetal, for instance. The base housing 20 has a motor 30 (shown inphantom) disposed within. The motor 30 is preferably a conventionalelectric motor. The motor 30 is operatively engaged with a drive shaft34 to cause the drive shaft 34 to rotate. The motor 30 is oriented suchthat the drive shaft 34 extends upwardly from the motor 30, extendingoutwardly and/or protruding from the center of a generally circular topsurface 20 a of the base housing 20. The base housing 20 further has acontrol 24 electrically connected to the motor 30 to enable a user tocontrol the speed of the motor 30. Although the control 24 is portrayedas a dial, it is understood by those skilled in the art that the control24 could take another form, such as buttons, a toggle switch, a slideswitch, or the like. A terminal end 34 a of the drive shaft 34 extendsoutwardly from the base housing 20 and has a plastic adapter 36 fixedlyengaged thereon and rotatable therewith.

Referring to FIGS. 1–3, the bowl 50 has a generally cylindrical sidewall50 b and a generally circular bottom wall 50 a engaged with andgenerally perpendicular to the sidewall 50 b and located slightlyupwardly from a bottom edge of the sidewall 50 b. The bowl 50 isremovably securable to the base housing 20. Preferably, the bowl 50 hasfirst protrusions 56 extending inwardly from an interior surface of thesidewall 50 b and located between the base wall 50 a and the bottom edgeof the sidewall 50 b. The first protrusions 56 slidingly engage withincorresponding slots 22 in the side wall of the base housing 20,proximate the top 20 a, to retain the bowl 50 on the base housing 20.Extending upwardly from the center of the bottom wall 50 a of the bowl50 is a generally cylindrical central tube 54 sized to accommodate thedrive shaft 34 and adapter 36 extending therethrough when the bowl 50 issecured to the base housing 20 in an assembled position. Preferably, atleast a portion of the adapter 36 extends above a top edge 54 a of thecentral tube 54 when in the assembled position. The interior surfaces ofthe sidewall 50 b and the bottom wall 50 a generally define an innersurface area 52 of the bowl 50. A handle 58 is integrally molded to thesidewall 50 b, extending outwardly therefrom, to provide the user with agripping surface with which to pick up, carry, and otherwise handle thebowl 50.

Although the base housing 20 is portrayed as being generallybarrel-shaped, it is within the spirit and scope of the presentinvention that the base housing 20 be of a different shape as long asthe base housing 20 can still perform its intended functions, asdescribed herein. For instance, the base housing could be in the shapeof a cube or parallelepiped. Additionally, although the bowl 50 is shownas being removably retained at the top 20 a of the base housing 20, itis within the spirit and scope of the present invention that the basehousing 20 be generally L-shaped when viewed from the side, such thatthe motor 30 is disposed within the vertically-oriented portion and thebowl 50 is disposed on top of the horizontally-oriented portion.

A cutting tool 40 is rotatably securable to the drive shaft 34. That is,the cutting tool 40 is rotatably fixed to the adapter 36 proximate theterminal end 34 a of the drive shaft 34 and is positioned within thebowl 50 above the top edge 54 a of the central tube 54, when in theassembled position. Preferably, the cutting tool 40 is a generallycircular metallic disk having a plurality of grating holes 46 and atleast one slicer blade 44 formed therein as is well understood by thoseof ordinary skill in the art. A tool hub 42 is positioned generally atthe center of the cutting tool 40. The tool hub 42 is sized and shapedso as to allow the cutting tool 40 to be slid downwardly onto andupwardly off of the adapter 36 while preventing rotational motion of thecutting tool 40 with respect to the adapter 36 and the drive shaft 34when the cutting tool 40 is retained on the adapter 36. In this way, theinteraction of the tool hub 42 with the adapter 36 allows the motor 30to rotate the cutting tool 40. Preferably, the adapter 36 is in theshape of a parallelepiped having a square cross-section and the tool hub42 has a square-shaped hole there through sized so as to slide easilyonto and off the adapter 36.

The food processor 10 further has a lid 60 that is removably securableto a top of the bowl 50. Preferably, the bowl 50 has second protrusions57 extending inwardly from the sidewall 50 b proximate the top of thebowl 50 that engage within corresponding lid slots 72 in a sidewall 60 bof the lid 60 proximate its bottom in order to retain the lid 60 on thebowl 50. The lid 60 has a generally circular, slightly rounded top wall60 a. The sidewall 60 b is integral with and extends downwardly from anouter edge of the top wall 60 a. Interior surfaces of the top wall 60 aand the sidewall 60 b collectively form an inner surface area 62 of thelid 60.

Extending upwardly and generally perpendicularly from the top wall 60 aof the lid 60 is a feed tube 66. The feed tube 66 is generally ovular inshape and located off center on the top wall 60 a between a center andthe outer edge of the top wall 60 a. The feed tube 66 provides apassageway from a mouth 66 a at the top of the feed tube 66 to a hole 60c in the top wall 60 a of the lid 60, through which foodstuff can beinserted into the bowl 50. When in the assembled position, the lid 60 isengaged with the top of the bowl 50, such that the inner surface area 52of the bowl 50 and the inner surface area 62 of the lid 60 define aprocessing chamber 12 wherein the foodstuff entering from the feed tube66 is processed by the cutting tool 40.

A feed tube lid 68 is pivotably mounted to the top of the feed tube 66to allow the user to open the feed tube lid 68 when loading foodstuffinto the feed tube 66 and close the feed tube lid 68 during operation ofthe food processor 10. Preferably, a hinge 68 a pivotably mounts thefeed tube lid 68 to the feed tube 66, although it is within the spiritand scope of the present invention that the feed tube lid 68 be attachedto the feed tube 66 in another manner, such as slidably engaged orremovably engaged. A latch 68 b is disposed on the feed tube lid 68oppositely from the hinge 68 a and engages with a corresponding abutment(not shown) on the feed tube 66 to retain the feed tube lid 68 in aclosed position. The latch 68 b helps prevent the feed tube lid 68 frominadvertently opening at inopportune times, such as during use of thefood processor 10. The feed tube lid 68 has a generally circular hole 68c therethrough to accommodate a generally cylindrical food pusher 70(shown in phantom in FIGS. 1 and 2) slidably disposed within the hole 68c. The food pusher 70 has an enlarged foot 70 a which corresponds to theshape of the feed tube 66 to allow the user to push the foodstuff withinthe feed tube 66 downwardly toward the cutting tool 40 and into the bowl50, when in the assembled position. While a feed tube 66 with apivotable feed tube lid 68 is shown, it is understood by those ofordinary skill in the art that a conventional feed tube with no lidcould be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

Referring now to FIGS. 1–4, the tray 80 is removably securable withinthe processing chamber 12. The tray 80 is manually rotatable relative tothe bowl 50 and the lid 60 independent of the drive shaft 34, theadapter 36, and the cutting tool 40, when in the assembled position. Thelid 60 includes at least one opening 64 that exposes a portion of thetray 80 when in the assembled position. Preferably, the lid 60 includestwo diametrically opposed openings 64 disposed in the lid 60 at theintersection of the top wall 60 a with the sidewall 60 b.

The tray 80 includes a generally cylindrical peripheral wall 84, agenerally circular base wall 86 engaged with a bottom edge of theperipheral wall 84, a generally frustoconical central hub 88 extendingupwardly from the center of the base wall 86, and a plurality ofinterior walls 90 extending radially from the hub 88 to the peripheralwall 84 to create a plurality of cavities 92. The interior walls 90extend upwardly from the base wall 86 between the central hub 88 and theperipheral wall 84. Preferably, top edges of the interior walls 90 areslanted upwardly, rising from just below an apex 88 a of the central hub88 to the peripheral wall 84, as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

The tray 80 includes a rim 82 at the top of the peripheral wall 84. Whenin the assembled position, portions of the rim 82 are exposed throughthe openings 64. The exposed portions of the tray 80 are graspable bythe user in order to manually to rotate the tray 80 relative to the lid60 and the bowl 50 when in the assembled position. Preferably, the rim82 has knurling 82 a to enhance the grip of the user so as to betterenable the user to rotate the tray 80.

Preferably, the plurality of interior walls 90 is comprised of a firstinterior wall 90 a, a second interior wall 90 b, and a third interiorwall 90 c. Preferably, the interior walls 90 are equidistantly spacedfrom one another so as to divide the tray 80 into equal thirds, definingfirst, second, and third cavities 92 a, 92 b, 92 c within the tray 80.Although the tray 80 is portrayed as having three equally-sized cavities92, it is within the spirit and scope of the present invention thatthere be more or less than three cavities 92 or that the cavities 92 beof different sizes. The tray 80 is manually rotatable relative to thebowl 50 and the lid 60 when in the assembled position such that at leastone of the cavities 92 can be aligned with the mouth 66 a of the feedtube 66.

The hub 88 includes a bore 94 therethrough to allow for the drive shaft34 and the adapter 36 to extend through the bore 94 and out from a hole96 at the apex 88 a of the hub 88 when in the assembled position. Thehub 88 is appropriately sized so as to fit loosely over the central tube54 of the bowl 50 when in the assembled position. A bottom surface 88 bof the apex 88 a of the hub 88 rests on the top edge 54 a of the centraltube 54 when in the assembled position. Preferably, both the bottomsurface 88 b and the top edge 54 a are smooth to minimize the frictionalresistance therebetween and enable the bottom surface 88 b to slidealong the top edge 54 a to allow for the rotation of the tray 80 withrespect to the bowl 50. Preferably, the bottom of the base wall 86 isslightly raised from the bottom wall 50 a of the bowl 50 to alsofacilitate rotation, although it is within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention that the bottom of the base wall 86 be in slidableengagement with the bottom wall 50 a in addition to or instead of theengagement of the bottom surface 88 b with the top edge 54 a.

When in the assembled position, the cutting tool 40 is positioned on theadapter 36 between the apex 88 a of the hub 88 and the inner surfacearea 62 of the lid 60. Preferably, the cutting tool 40 is disposedslightly lower than the rim 82 of the tray 80 such that it is completelywithin the tray 80 and spaced upwardly from the top edges of theinterior walls 90. Preferably, each opening 64 of the lid 60 has atleast a portion of an inner edge 64 a disposed even with or slightlybelow the rim 82 of the tray 80 when in the assembled position whichserve to abut an inner surface of the peripheral wall 84 and inhibit theinner surface of the peripheral wall 84 from coming into contact withthe cutting tool 40 if minor distortions are present in the tray 80.

When in the assembled position, the cutting tool 40 at least partiallyblocks the user's view of the tray 80, making it somewhat difficult toalign the cavities 92 with the feed tube 66. For this reason, the tray80 preferably has discernible alignment markings 80 a in the rim 82 toaid the user in aligning the cavities 92 with the feed tube 66.Additionally, discernible alignment markings 50 c, 64 b preferably aredisposed in the bowl 50 and/or the lid 60 in the vicinity of theopenings 64 when in the assembled position so as to further aid the userin aligning the cavities 92 with the feed tube 66. The alignmentmarkings 80 a are appropriately spaced along the rim 82 of the tray 80so that when one of the pairs of alignment markings 80 a show throughthe openings 64 and align with the alignment markings 50 c, 64 b in thebowl 50 and/or the lid 60, the user knows that the corresponding cavity92 is aligned with the feed tube 66.

The alignment markings 50 c, 64 b, 80 a can be visually and/or tactilelyperceptible. Although the alignment markings 50 c, 64 b, 80 a areportrayed as darkened stripes in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, it is within thespirit and scope of the present invention that the alignment markings 50c, 64 b, 80 a be of a different form. That is, the alignment markings 50c, 64 b, 80 a could be (1) stripes, dots, or other markings coloreddifferently from the colors of the bowl 50, the lid 60, and the tray 80;(2) slightly raised protuberances, slightly inset notches, ordifferently textured areas; or (3) any combination thereof.Additionally, each of the pairs of alignment markings 80 a correspondingto each cavity 92 preferably differs in shape, color, or the like toenable the user to know which of the three cavities 92 is aligned withthe feed tube 66. Also, it is contemplated that the individual alignmentmarkings 80 a of each pair of alignment markings 80 a be differentlydenoted from one another in some way (i.e. different colors or themarkings “R” and “L”, for instance) to allow the user to know whichalignment marking 80 a to align in which opening 64 (i.e. aligning theleft alignment markings 80 a within the left opening 64) to insure thatthe cavity 92 is aligned with the feed tube 66 instead of the interiorwall 90 (as would happen if the right alignment marking 80 a werealigned within the left opening 64). It is alternatively contemplatedthat only one side of the bowl 50 and/or lid 60 have alignment markings50 c, 64 b and that the tray 80, instead of having pairs of alignmentmarkings 80 a, have single alignment markings 80 a, one corresponding toeach cavity 92, so as to insure that the user does not misalign the tray80 so that an interior wall 90 is positioned under the feed tube 66.

The tray 80 is preferably constructed of molded polymeric material.Specifically, the tray 80 is constructed of a molded styreneacrylonitrile (SAN) material. The tray 80 is not limited to beingconstructed of molded SAN materials and may be constructed of nearly anyrigid, structural material that is able to take on the general shape ofthe tray 80 and withstand the normal operating conditions of the tray80. For example, the tray 80 may be constructed of any polymeric, metal,glass, or related material that is able to take on the general shape ofthe tray 80 and withstand the normal operating conditions of the tray80.

In use, the tray 80 is placed within the bowl 50, which is secured tothe base housing 20. The cutting tool 40 is mounted to the adapter 36extending upwardly from the hole 96 of the tray 80. The lid 60 is thensecured to the top of the bowl 50 to fully assemble the food processor10. The tray 80 is then rotated so as to align the first cavity 92 awith the mouth 66 a of the feed tube 66. A first foodstuff (not shown)is inserted within the feed tube 66, either through the hole 68 c of thefeed tube lid 68 or by opening the feed tube lid 68. It is preferablethat opening the feed tube lid 68 include an interlock which preventsthe motor 30 from operating while the feed tube lid 68 is open. The foodprocessor 10 is turned on and set to the desired speed setting using thecontrol 24 so as to begin rotation of the cutting tool 40. The user canthen urge the first foodstuff downwardly toward the cutting tool 40,preferably using the food pusher 70 to do so, so as to begin theprocessing of the first foodstuff. Upon completion of the processing ofthe first foodstuff, the user can than either continue the processing offoodstuffs into the first cavity 92 a or rotate the tray 80 to align thesecond cavity 92 b with the mouth 66 a of the feed tube 66 and beginprocessing a second foodstuff (not shown) into the second cavity 92 b,thereby keeping the second foodstuff separate from the first foodstuff.In the same way, upon completion of the processing of the secondfoodstuff, the tray 88 can be rotated to align the third cavity 92 cwith the mouth 66 a of the feed tube 66 in order to process a thirdfoodstuff (not shown), thereby keeping the third foodstuff separate fromthe first and second foodstuffs. Upon completion of the processing ofthe foodstuffs, the user can remove the lid 60 from the bowl 50 andremove the cutting tool 40 from the adapter 36. The tray 80 containingthe foodstuffs can be lifted out of the bowl 50. The user can theneither remove the foodstuffs from the tray 80 or keep the foodstuffswithin the tray 80 and use the tray 80 as a serving dish with which toserve the foodstuffs.

If desired, the food processor 10 could be used without the tray 80.When assembling the food processor 10, the user would simply not insertthe tray 80 within the bowl 50. By assembling the food processor 10 inthis way, the user could process foodstuffs so that the processedfoodstuffs collect within the bowl 50 instead of the tray 80. When inthis configuration, the food processor 10 of the present invention wouldoperate in much the same way as other known food processors.

The food processor 10 of the present invention is configured to processdifferent foodstuffs while keeping the different foodstuffs separatefrom one another. Because of this configuration, the user is notrequired to disassemble the food processor 10, remove the bowl 50 andremove the foodstuff therein, clean the food processor 10, andreassemble the food processor 10 before processing a second foodstuff inorder to keep the foodstuffs separated. The tray 80 of the presentinvention allows the user to process up to three different foodstuffs,keeping each foodstuff compartmentalized within a separate cavity 92,before having to disassemble the food processor 10 to remove thecontents of the bowl 50. In this way, use of the tray 80 in the foodprocessor 10 can reduce the amount of time necessary to processdifferent foodstuffs. Also, the use of the tray 80 could result in lesscleanup for the user if the user uses the tray 80 as a serving dish. Byusing the tray 80 as a serving dish, the user will not have to use,dirty, and, consequently, clean separate serving dishes.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could bemade to the embodiment described above without departing from the broadinventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that thisinvention is not limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but itis intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention, as defined by the appended claims.

1. A food processor for processing foodstuffs comprising: a basehousing; a motor disposed within the base housing; a drive shaftoperatively engaged with the motor and protruding from the base housing,the motor causing rotation of the drive shaft; a tool rotatablysecurable to the drive shaft; a bowl removably securable to the basehousing and including an inner surface area; a lid having an innersurface area, the lid being removably securable to the bowl to create aprocessing chamber between the inner surface areas of the bowl and lidin an assembled position; and a tray removably securable within theprocessing chamber, the tray being manually rotatable relative to thebowl and lid independent of the drive shaft and tool in the assembledposition.
 2. The food processor of claim 1 wherein the lid includes atleast one opening that exposes a portion of the tray when in theassembled position.
 3. The food processor of claim 2 wherein the trayincludes a rim, a portion of the rim being exposed through the at leastone opening.
 4. The food processor of claim 3 wherein the rim isknurled.
 5. The food processor of claim 2 wherein the exposed portion ofthe tray is graspable such that the tray is manually rotatable relativeto the lid and bowl when in the assembled position.
 6. The foodprocessor of claim 2 wherein the lid includes two openings.
 7. The foodprocessor of claim 1 wherein in the tray includes a peripheral wall, abase wall, a central hub, and a plurality of interior walls, theinterior walls extending radially from the hub to the peripheral wall tocreate a plurality of cavities.
 8. The food processor of claim 7 whereinthe plurality of interior walls is comprised of a first interior wall, asecond interior wall, and a third interior wall, the first, second, andthird interior walls creating first, second, and third cavities withinthe tray.
 9. The food processor of claim 7 wherein the hub includes abore therethrough, the drive shaft extending through the bore andextending from a hole at an apex of the hub when in the assembledposition.
 10. The food processor of claim 7 wherein the bowl includes acentral tube, the hub of the tray fitting over the central tube when inthe assembled position, the tray being slidably engaged with the bowl toallow for rotation of the tray relative the bowl.
 11. The food processorof claim 1 wherein the lid includes a feed tube extending from an outersurface of the lid.
 12. The food processor of claim 11 wherein the trayincludes a plurality of cavities, the tray being manually rotatablerelative to the bowl and lid when in the assembled position such that atleast one of the cavities is aligned with a mouth of the feed tube. 13.The food processor of claim 12 wherein the tray and at least one of thebowl and the lid have alignment markings, the alignment markings of thetray corresponding to each of the plurality of cavities, whereby thealignment markings of the tray and at least one of the bowl and the lidare aligned with each other to align the cavity with the mouth of thefeed tube.
 14. The food processor of claim 1 wherein the tool isrotatably secured to a terminal end of the drive shaft.
 15. The foodprocessor of claim 14 wherein the tool is positioned between the trayand the inner surface area of the lid in the assembled position.